Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to audio systems and, more specifically, to automating repairs to audio systems.
Description of the Related Art
Many audio systems include relatively large numbers of audio devices that are deployed at various locations throughout a venue. For example, an audio system that is deployed at a stadium could include hundreds of digital signal processors, amplifiers, and speakers distributed across various rooms and floors and interconnected via multiple switches. Oftentimes, complex audio systems are initially configured by sound engineers. The sound engineers first connect the various audio devices within the system and then configure the audio devices using audio system management software. Configuring the audio devices may involve establishing identifications, downloading firmware, setting internal parameters, and so forth. Subsequently, as the audio system operates, technicians maintain the audio system. As part of maintaining the audio system, the technicians may have to re-configure one or more of the audio devices. For example, a technician may download new firmware to a given digital signal processor to improve the operation of the related audio device and the overall operation of the audio system.
Over time, various audio devices included in an audio system can fail. For each failed audio device, the technician typically identifies and locates the failed audio device, disconnects the failed audio device, and connects a replacement audio device suitable for the audio system. Subsequently, the sound engineer identifies the configuration of the failed audio device immediately before the failure. The sound engineer then configures the replacement audio device to replicate the identified configuration, which enables the replacement audio device to assume the functionality of the failed audio device. Typically, the sound engineer configures the replacement audio device via the audio system management software.
While such a manual repair process may eventually restore the audio system to the pre-failure state, the time and expertise required to repair the audio system in such a manner is substantial. For example, the audio system may be off-line or only partially operational for several weeks. Further, such a manual repair process is error-prone. For example, the sound engineer may be unable to locate and/or reproduce the correct version of firmware to download to the replacement device. In another example, before a device fails, settings and/or parameter values that are implemented in the device may be changed externally and the updated settings and/or parameter values may not be recorded. In such a scenario, after the device fails, the sound engineer may be unable to reproduce the settings and/or the parameter values. As a result, the audio system may not be able to be restored to the correct state, and the overall performance of the audio system may suffer accordingly.
As the foregoing illustrates, more effective techniques for repairing audio systems after audio device failures would be useful.